The Best Free Gifts Banking Can Offer

Thank you for opening this new checking account, would you like a litter bag or a set of garden-hose nozzles with that?

Everett Collection

Just open an account

Banks have long looked to sign up new customers with bribes, the toaster being among the best known gift. But as WSJ colleague Suzanne Kapner reports this morning, the ante has been upped to cold hard cash, $900 gift cards to luxury retailers and frequent flier miles worth a round-trip escape. The gifts can come with tax forms, Kapner writes, wiping out some of the incentive for joining the big spending banks.

Thankfully, though, there’s still plenty of toaster-like incentives being wrapped up with safe-deposit boxes across the country.

Deal Journal, in an entirely unscientific and not-at-all official survey, deems the following gifts some of the best available. People of El Dorado, Ark., consider yourselves lucky.

First Financial Bank, of El Dorado, Ark.: Currently on offer is the “Totally Bamboo Cutting Board Set”when a personal or business checking account is opened. But there’s only another week to get that before the offer becomes the “High Road Vehicle Litter Bag w/Dispenser.” In April, a “Backyard Garden Hose Nossle” set becomes available for Spring planting season, followed by a “Maverick Barb-B-Fork,” just in time for grilling season in June.

FirstBank, of Colo.: This bank has climbed to the second biggest deposit holding in Colorado from sixth twenty years ago, quite possibly aided by high-tech giveaways. Right now of offering is a choice of a Kindle Fire, a Garmin or an iPod Touch. FirstBank’s fine print does not the gifts are subject to IRS reporting.

Titan Bank, of Mineral Wells, Texas: This bank also has a rotating schedule of gifts including a Northern Gravity Gear Backpack, a Pyrex prepware set, an Ironworks tool set and a Bob Mackie rolling duffel. Community Bank & Trust, of Missouri and Kansas: New customers here have just a few more days to get a free Oxo extendable snowbrush before the gift changes to a Rubbermaid easy-find-lids set of 20 pieces. In April a set of Samsonite Binoculars will be in the offing, followed by umbrellas, a picnic cooler, a portable stadium seat, a cordless screwdriver and a Pyrex set.

Needham Bank, of Needham Mass.: This local bank is giving out something called a Babycakes Cake Pop Maker, which it says is perfect for your next party. “Make delicious cake pops or donut holes with the Babycakes Cake Pop Maker. This device has non-stick baking plates and comes with a fork, cooling rack, recipe booklet and fifty paper sticks.”

Deal Journal doesn’t necessarily recommend picking a checking account based on a great gift, but, by all means, it should be factored into any important decision like the safety of your money and your children’s future college accounts.

Comments (3 of 3)

The thought of receiving a gift from my bank for opening account is very cool! It shows that they are actually grateful for my business and are going above and beyond than just putting money in to my account. The bank is finding a gift they think I, personally, will enjoy and thanking me for my business. I believe this is the way all businesses should operate. The good'ole fashion way.

5:37 pm February 23, 2012

Sam wrote :

This is a very fun idea. I would like to see more banks in my area offering a free gift.

Thanks for reading Deal Journal. We would like to direct you to MoneyBeat, the Wall Street Journal’s brand new global blog. MoneyBeat unites MarketBeat, The Source, Overheard and all the Deal Journal blogs, bringing together all the market, M&A, IPO and hedge-fund news from those blogs into a 24-hour hub for finance news. Check it out and let us know what you think at moneyblog@wsj.com.

About Deal Journal

Deal Journal is an up-to-the-minute take on the deals and deal makers that shape the landscape of Wall Street, including mergers and acquisitions, capital-raising, private equity and bankruptcy. In short, wherever money changes hands. Deal Journal is updated throughout each trading day with exclusive commentary, analysis, data, news flashes and profiles. The Wall Street Journal’s David Benoit is the lead writer, with contributions from other Journal reporters and editors. Send news items, comments and questions to deals@wsj.com.